Zakul the gray-haired, violet eyed genin of Konoha found himself in the training grounds performing his normal morning workout standing off in one corner practicing his round house kicks on a tree. Each strike causing the oak to shake every two or three strikes managing to shake loose some leaves that he would then shift striking each of the falling leaves as the fell kicking each of them once.

Once each of the falling leaves were struck he would take up his base stance and start kicking the Oak again to shake more free. The bark where his shin struck was completely missing leaving a noticeable scar on the side of tree, another scar-like mark was on the tree about eye-level with Zakul from where he would start punching it when he felt he was done with his kicks.

Though he seemed completely focused on what he was doing Zakul's mind was actually wandering off completely bored wishing they would hurry up and assign him to a team so he could go on real missions rather than this monotonous training. Though he had to admit the weather was practically perfect, fluffy clouds lazily drifting across an otherwise clear blue sky. The temperature was somewhere in the mid-seventies, and a gentle breeze blew through the training grounds occasionally. He couldn't have asked for a better day to train, though he would rather be out working.

KuroiEn'ō

Green eyes snapped open and stared at the ceiling of the room, a brief moment of scared confusion flashing over them before they returned to their burdened glare, then closed again momentarily.

"Leave me alone, Red...""Sleeping when you should be training, Black? We will be unable to eradicate humanity if you continue being weak.""I don't particularly want to eradicate humanity. I like humanity. I'm part of it. Leave me alone. I was dreaming...""If we'll go to the training grounds, I will leave you alone until we get there.""..Fine..."

Opening her eyes once again, the young raven-haired girl stepped out of bed and turned around to fix it up, making it look neat and pretty before she went about her morning routines, brushing her hair and tying her headband before doing anything else, fixing herself up and getting ready to leave. Sighing lightly, wishing she could go back to sleep, she stepped out of her house.

As she arrived at the training grounds, her eyes scanned over everything in sight, and though she couldn't see anyone directly she could hear the tell-tale sounds of someone already here, training. Predicting the comment of her Bijuu, Kuroi headed off in that direction and closed in on the man who was training. She immediately recognized him as one of the Genin who graduated alongside her, and trusted her memory as she approached him.

"Hello, Ryuken-San." She tried to smile lightly, but it wasn't coming. It felt more like a soft grin, and looked more like a pained twinge. Gokuu snorted and laid down, wanting to see how this would play out. He held massive contempt for humans, mostly in how they'd outsmarted him and sealed him away, while intelligence was one of Kuroi's greated attributes. With Gokuu's strength and Kuroi's intelligence... chances were strong she wouldn't remain a Genin for long. "How long have you been here?" She asked as her wrist rested on the hilt of her sword, a gift from her father the day she graduated, as she tilted her head to the side.[/ketsu]

Zakul heard his name, stopping mid kick he would slowly lower his leg before pivoting on his heels to face the new arrival, he recognized her vaguely from class though he couldn't quite remember her name. Names were never his strong suit, though he could remember something about her, she supposedly had a demon sealed away inside of her. He could also remember her always seeming kind of lonely as most wouldn't go and play with her, and even seemed to avoid her. Zakul couldn't say much, he didn't go out of his way to hang out with her, though looking at her now he kind of wish he did. "Good ... um Day, Not entirely sure. I came out some time before sun-up so that I could finish my work out before the heat of the day."

"Hey, aren't you that demon girl?" Zakul would then say, his arms up hands folded behind his head, his face was in a big goofy grin, hopefully showing that he had no ill intent with his statement. He honestly thought it was kind of cool, even with the risks that were involved with being a host, and would even tell her such should she be who he thinks she is.

KuroiEn'ō

"Demon? I am a Bijū, not some petty Demon...""Clearly he doesn't know any better, Red. Relax, I got this."

Inhaling sharply and opening her eyes again, the raven-haired girl shrugged her shoulders lightly as if giving up.

"Yeah, sure, demon-girl, whatever. Not the worst I've heard." Turning away, she took a few steps before she turned back around and faced the Genin who so clearly didn't mean to offend her, and sighed once again. "Sorry, I've heard a lot of bad stuff, and been treated worse... turns out Red isn't really a welcomed member of society, and most people just don't understand. It's not like we're constantly fighting with each other, it's mostly just Red bickering that he wants us to train while I want to read... but we find a balance. My name is En'ō Kuroi, since you seem to be unable to recall that information."

Sitting down on the ground and bringing her legs up to her chest, she closed her eyes for a moment, listening for when or if Zakul would begin to speak again, but otherwise just talking with Gokuu even if that wasn't obvious.

"Why are you talking we should be training.""You said you'd be quiet until we got to the training grounds.""Look around, Black, we're in them.""You know what I meant. Besides, Zakul could be useful to us. Plus, he may end up on our team in the future. Better to have a rapport now than try to fight for one later.""What team? We can just burn down the village now, and save the trouble of recruiting others."You need to get a hobby, Red."[/ketsu]

"I am sorry I just couldn't think of what to call you, I didn't mean any offense" Zakul said, his grin melting from his face into a look of guilt, he really didn't mean to upset her. Though on the upside he now knew her name, "I am sorry En'ō-chan, I was never very good with names, but training now that is something I can understand. Of course, I tended to keep to myself at the academy so I didn't get much practice in remembering names."

The gray haired young man would kneel down across from the raven haired young kunoichi, a soft smile spreading across his face as he spoke "Seeing as you are here, would you like to spar with me? The best practice with training is to occasionally change up your work out. Plus it would give us a good chance to test our respective training."

Kuroi En'ō

As Zakul apologized, Kuroi began to ease up- he didn't mean any offense, which she had already assumed, but... as soon as he began his next sentence, he called her chan, which immediately made her tense back up. She waited until he finished speaking, something about sparring with him to train and see where they were at, and as soon as he was finished Kuroi pulled her fist back and thrust it into his face, knocking him into the tree directly behind him. She didn't have the Taijutsu training he clearly did, so the punch itself wouldn't have necessarily hurt, just sort of caught him off guard and pushed him back.

"We have not known eachother long enough for you to call me chan. Refrain yourself from that behaviour in the future, Ryuuken-kun." Tilting her head lightly to the side, Kuroi sighed and extended a hand to the man who was on the ground leaning on the tree, showing him that her anger didn't linger, and she was not in any way still upset, provided he corrected that behavior in the future. "In regards to your offer, I will have to pass for now. I am not versed in Taijutsu; I barely know how to use the sword I carry. Red kind of pushed me into devoting myself to Ninjutsu unfortunately... maybe in the future we can try, but you felt my strongest Taijutsu attack and I can tell it barely even hurt you."

If Zakul took her hand, she'd help him stand up; either way, she'd shrug her shoulders and cross her arms over her chest, shaking her head softly.

Zakul watched as Kuroi pulled her fist back into a well telegraphed punch, the blow struck home right in the gray-haired genin's jaw knocking him back a couple of steps into the tree. The blow itself didn't hurt but Zakul slid down the tree anyways, looking up at Kuroi with a big goofy grin, Yeah she would be fun to have as a teammate, his smile stayed plastered on his face as she reprimanded him for calling her chan, his mistake, and he would have to keep her fiery temper in mind in the future, cause frankly he didn't want to end up getting burned. Accepting her offered hand, he stood up with her assistance, listening to her complaints about not being particularly good with Taijutsu. "Fair enough, though if you look at it another way, that would be all the more reason to accept the offer, and I am sure 'Red' as you call him might even back me up on this one. You see it would give you more experience dealing with foes who will try to get up close and personal, disrupting your jutsu's, and on the flip side it would give me the experience in dealing with people who prefer fighting from afar, and are constantly disengaging to attack from afar. Both are skills we will need to work on If we expect to survive in the real world."

With that Zakul would return her shrug, in the end it was her choice, and otherwise it was about time for him to begin his next exercise if she was going to refuse. "Also, this might seem wierd coming from someone like me who has spent alot of time strength training, but strength isn't everything in taijutsu, precision is just as important if not more so, a well placed weak strike can disrupt your opponents flow just as well if not better than a heavy hit, but in the end I leave it up to the two of you as to whether or not you accept my offer."

Did he just address me as 'Red'? You can do that because we're both stuck in this situation. He is an imbecilic chimpanzee, I am Son Gokū the Five-Tailed Gorilla. If this little sack ofRed, hush. He clearly doesn't possess my intelligence, in fact may even be a little below the average Genin, so cut him a break. Go back to being quiet or I'll go to the library, and we both know how much you hate that.

Opening her eyes as the male finished speaking, she turned away for a moment and considered what he had said. The rest of the training grounds were empty for now, so collateral damage wasn't that much of a risk, but there was still the threat of using Ninjutsu out of habit... Doton would be safe, even Katon wouldn't pose too much of a threat since Konoha would easily repair its own damages, but she couldn't risk using Youton on accident. It wasn't safe, and it wasn't something she could get away with. People hated her enough as it was.

...Wait a moment, people hate her. She'd never met a Genin who wasn't afraid of her or hated her, or both. What was it with this guy that he didn't seem to even care that she was a Jinchūriki? He spoke of Red like it didn't phase him, but did he actually know who Red was? His statements gave off the impression that he knew they were the same person to an extent, with their own personalities, but his actions showed how unafraid of her he really was.

"Ryuken-san... you do know who, and what, I am... yes?" Assuming he nodded or confirmed in some other way, she'd continue with "You... don't seem to even care about it. I'm not saying that's in any way a bad thing, please don't misunderstand me, it's just... I'm not used to that feeling from non-Jūnin Shinobi or the Hokage herself. They understand, but most people just... don't." Kuroi fought the urge to ask why he was so different, know the connotations of that exact phrase, but instead simply shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"Okay, I guess we can... try. I really don't have the experience with this that I should, you understand."

"I know what people have said about you, that you are the host to a primal embodiment of Chakra. Not just that but one who is known for being quite violent, and not exactly known for his love of human's, and it isn't that I don't care about it, it is just that even though you have a genocidal creature inside of you that doesn't mean that it is who you are, and as such I am waiting to form my own opinion of you, uncolored by the prejudices and fears of others." Zakul said, it was the truth. It really didn't matter to him that she was the host to a demon who would eat him alive, he would leave it up to himself to choose his opinion of her. Taking up a loose stance, standing straight up with his body turned sideways to her, his left arm behind his back and his right bent so that his arm was at a 45° angle from his hip, palm up as she accepted his offer to spar he waited. For her to ready, "Well that is part of what this will be for, Ladies first."

Betraying her intentions to actually complete the training with him, Kuroi watched with idle eyes as Zakul took his sparring stance and prepared for her, then waited. In no aggression whatsoever, Kuroi stepped towards him and leaned in, pressing her lips against his for only a moment. As shepulled away, her face was brighter than the fire she could generate with a thought, and hotter than her own lava, but she looked down, the blush only growing stronger as she turned around and returned to her former position.

"...Thank you." Turning to face him, she'd gathered herself and was significantly less red than before as she took a very basic stance with openings scattered around her body, except for her head which was protected. Nodding to Zakul and awaiting his affirmation that he was still ready, she launched her attack by launching herself, thrusting her right fist towards Zakul's face, only to at the last second also thrust her left fist towards his stomach. She may not have been an expert, but she was paying attention in the academy.

As Kuroi approached him slowly, no sign of aggression in her stance Zakul waited, curious as to what she was planning, though what she did, left him dumbfounded. Her soft lips gently pressed against his, the action took place in the span of just over a second and it was over. While it was a fleeting sensation it was enough to freeze the gray-haired genin's brain as it tried to hold onto the feeling. While he was not quite all there, he didn't miss the fact that her face was bright red. Her voice snapped him back to normal, shaking the cobwebs out of his head, that scene would probably come back to him later, but for now it was time to put his head back into the present.

Kuroi's face was almost back to normal as she took up a very basic Taijutsu stance, her stance left her open pretty much from the shoulder down, she nodded her affirmation which Zakul returned signalling that his head was back in the moment. Kuroi then did something almost as unexpected as the kiss, rather than increase their distance to try and strike with her ninjutsu she rushed him throwing a punch towards his face, he ducked the blow spinning around, his front leg lashing out at Kuroi's in an attempt to trip her up, even if his attempt at tripping her failed, her second punch would probably connect with the side of his skull at about the same time. "Konoha Reppuu"

Chakra: 47/50

Techniques Used:

Name: Konoha Reppuu - Leaf Violent WindRank: DRange: MeleeJutsu Type: TaijutsuElemental Affinity: N/AClan:N/ACost: 3Description: A counter attack in which the ninja uses a low spinning kick on the ankles to make its enemy fall while they are running, using their momentum against their opponent.

The male duck and spun around, lashing out in a trip attempt and succeeding in it as her fist collided with his skull, blow for blow as she felt her body twisting as it started to fall down, her brain adapting to the situation as quickly as it could, thrusting her right palm against the ground to stop herself and pushing back to her feet, then twisting into a backwards flip to put a little bit of distance. Stopping to catch her breath, she smiled. Maybe this would be kind of fun...

The punch connected with the side of Zakul's head, causing it to snap off to one side, though his stance because of Violent wind kept him from falling down, from the corner of his eye he could see her plant her hand and flip herself up, back flipping away putting some distance between the two of them. Zakul stood straight up retaking his stance, hopefully she would start fighting this her way soon, and not trying to match him at close range. What good would the sparring be if one of them was fighting out of their element, especially when the favor could not be fully reciprocated, Especially seeing as he himself couldn't go nin for nin against her. "Well that was fun, though from what you said earlier I was expecting you to fling Ninjutsu at me, though that was a nice feint."

Smiling at her he waited again for her to make another move, it was far too easy for her to catch him in the middle of most of his engaging attacks, so it was best to wait for her to make her move.

"And burn down the whole village?" She stared at him with a blank expression, though she heard Gokū yelling at her even with her eyes open, his voice and rage penetrating through her layers of conscious, telling her to go through with it. It almost sounded like a whisper in the back of her mind, but the rage and tone was what gave it away that it was just Gokū. Sighing briefly, she stretched her shoulders and neck out like how she'd seen the students who really dedicated themselves to Taijutsu do, thinking in her mind before she spoke again.

"My Ninjutsu is Katon, Doton, and Yōton. My Doton is my weakest of the three, primarily for Defense. The other two would cause damage to the forest, and I'm not about to do that in a simple spar with another Genin. No offense, Ryuken-san, but maybe if we end up on the same Team we can test that out under a Jōnin's guidance. Not yet though." Shrugging lightly, her mind was clearly made up regarding that fact. Would Zakul want to keep doing Taijutsu, something that put her at a disadvantage, or would he try to flip the script to something they were both about even at? It was clear already that, although Zakul was better at predicting her movements due to his experience, they were just about the same speed...

"Ah, good point... Guess I should thank you for not doing that then." Zakul said, his face flushing, if she had actually lashed out with her ninjutsu, well it would most likely have given a whole new meaning to the term 'Hot Foot'. Thinking things through he dropped his stance, it wouldn't be fair if neither of them could use their best against each other, even if it was just a sparring session. "Well I guess that kind of restricts what we can do then, Because frankly I have no skill in anything that isn't Taijutsu, and it would put you at a severe disadvantage if you are avoiding using the skills you have spent most of your time honing."

Putting his hands behind his head leaving himself wide open, he tilted his head sideways his face pensive while he thought, while he appreciated not being cooked, he was disappointed that this perfect opportunity was going to go to waste, "So do you have any thoughts? Or should we just call it off for now, and hope that we get assigned to the same team?"